Sporting Madness

The Scribblings of the Scribes of Sport book review series is back! Leave your own thoughts on the book in the comments below, or get in touch with me at andrew_bucholtz@hotmail.com if you have suggestions for other books for me to review! The World Is A Ball: The Joy, Madness and Meaning of Soccer, by John Doyle The World Cup is over, but soccer rolls on. North American soccer is in full swing, and things are looking good for Canadian teams at the moment, with Toronto FC finding success in MLS and Vancouver and Montreal both having solid USSF Division II campaigns. There have been plenty of interesting international friendlies, including the Kansas City Wizards' surprising win over Manchester United [ The Telegraph ] yesterday, and the English Premier League's set to kick off in just a few short weeks. With soccer, and particularly with major international competitions, it's important to remember that it's about much more than just the results. Sure, we'll ...

In a twist from three days earlier , the Vancouver Whitecaps came hard out of the gate against the NSC Minnesota Stars—and initially, they wound up worse off for their troubles. In the end, their efforts were rewarded, but not to the degree they would have hoped for as they finished with a 1-1 draw. "It was two points lost," head coach Teitur Thordarson said. "I think we played well, especially in the first half. ... I think we still played well in the second half, but there wasn't the energy and there wasn't the intensity." Unlike Thursday’s game against Portland where they started slow but came on late in the half and collected the match’s first goal, Vancouver controlled the play early on and created plenty of great chances. Marc Weber of The Province tweeted that it looked like a 3-0 Vancouver victory, and I concurred . The game changed dramatically in the 28th minute on a counterattack when Johnny Meyongar sent Simone Bracalello through with...

The weekend of Whitecaps coverage continues here and at The 24th Minute . I'll be live-blogging tonight's clash against the NSC Minnesota Stars. Kickoff is at 10 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Pacific. Here are match previews from Simon Fudge of WhitecapsFC.com and Marc Weber of The Province . Check them out, then join me at 7 for the live blog! Vancouver Whitecaps - NSC Minnesota Stars

The Vancouver Whitecaps will be heading to the W-League Final Four for the first time since they hosted the tournament and claimed the championship in 2006. They sealed a berth today with a 2-1 victory in the Western Conference final against the rival Pali Blues in front of 1,712 fans at Swangard Stadium, but it wasn’t an easy one. Keeper Siobhan Chamberlain turned in a tremendous performance for Vancouver, turning away four shots, including one that went off her and then off the post. She said it was a thrilling experience despite the pressure. "I enjoyed this one, although it was hard work," she said. "You need a bit of luck sometimes and we got it today." Pali began with a lot of pressure, but the scoring chances they generated were repelled by the Vancouver defence. Emily Zurrer and Martina Franko stood strong in the middle, while Robyn Gayle and Chelsea Stewart were solid on the wing and Chamberlain made some key stops. Still, Pali easily could have ...

It's time for a bit of different blogging coverage today, as I'll be heading to Swangard Stadium to live blog the Whitecaps' women's team in their W-League Western Conference playoff clash against the Pali Blues. Alan Douglas has a preview of the game and who to watch over at whitecapsfc.com. The game's at 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific, so come swing by then for the live blog! Vancouver Whitecaps women - Pali Blues

Last night's 2-1 Portland Timbers victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps was an odd game for a variety of reasons. For one thing, Portland had won only one of their last 17 matches at Swangard Stadium and hadn't won there in six years [ Prost Amerika ]. The victory also allowed Portland to retain the Cascadia Cup [ Simon Fudge , WhitecapsFC.com ]. Furthermore, the result was probably pretty fair given the overall flow of the game, but it came in a highly unexpected way. The Timbers dominated the first half of play, but didn't come away with much to show for it. Vancouver had a few early chances as well, but they looked disorganized at the back at times and not terribly dangerous in attack. George Josten really should have opened the scoring for Portland; he had a tremendous chance in the 26th minute that was nullified by an offensive foul, and had another chance in the 29th minute, but drilled a rebound wide from five yards out. The second half was a different story. ...

Photo: Toronto Argonauts cornerback Evan McCollough intercepts a pass intended for Calgary Stampeders slotback P.K. Sam in their clash Wednesday, July 14. Toronto won 27-24 to improve to 2-1 on the year. [ Mark Blinch , Reuters ] Welcome to another issue of The Whole 110 Yards , your weekly update on the CFL complete with game recaps, off-field stories, former college football stars and predictions for this weekend's games! Also, I'll again be running the CFL.ca Friday Night Football Live Chat tomorrow with Brian Wawryshyn of BC Lions Den and Tyler Bieber of CFL Daily . This week's featured matchup is the B.C. Lions and Toronto Argonauts, and we'll kick off the chat at 4:15 p.m. Pacific (7:15 p.m. Eastern) tomorrow evening; make sure to come join us then! Game of the Week: Toronto 27, Calgary 24 In recent years, the Toronto Argonauts have tended to receive more national coverage than any other CFL team. That's understandable, considering that they...